Following this crushing loss the Bolton boxer was taken to hospital for a precautionary scan.

And the defeat casts significant doubt on his plans of moving up to the welterweight division to face the likes of unbeaten American Floyd Mayweather.

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"I was a little surprised the referee stopped [the fight]," Khan added. "I thought he was going to let us continue.

"My mind was clear and I thought my legs were OK but I respect the referee, the judges and the commission, maybe they made the right call."

Khan is now 26-3 with 18 early wins and two stoppage defeats, while Garcia is now 24-0 with 15 knockouts.

Garcia, 24, said: "We knew Khan was going to come out fast because he thought I had no power but I waited and stepped up to use the power and speed I have, and it worked.

"I was going to fight until the death, just like he did. Now I want to continue to fight the best."

Garcia was actually trailing early on - and cut over the eye - when the fight exploded in the third round.

A counter left from Garcia floored Khan hard, despite hitting him in the neck, and although Khan got to his feet quickly he appeared devoid of his senses.

Analysis

Paulie MalignaggiFormer IBF light-welterweight champion

"The gameplan was the correct one from Amir, pick off Garcia with speed, keep him off balance, keep him turning. But it's amazing how styles make fights because Garcia prepared for that kind of thing and Khan made one fatal mistake of jumping in a little bit too much. In the end Garcia caught him the way he wanted to. The plan was to land that kind of punch and boy did he do that - he hit him hard."

Referee Kenny Bayless allowed it to go on and Khan was saved by the bell as Garcia threw a massive right and a left with the Briton struggling again.

After a minute to recover Khan looked in better shape for the fourth but Garcia threw huge shots in search of the stoppage and Khan was soon down again, this time from a right, which saw him trip on the rope.

Khan somehow survived and amazingly began firing back as the two men stood and traded crashing blows.

The 25-year-old briefly had the upper hand, landing a nice uppercut. But he was then down a third time when he was caught by a glancing left and right to the temple.

Again he got up quickly, but when Bayless stared into his eyes, the referee finally decided he had taken enough.

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Comments

So tell me,how many fights has Khan lost because of a glass jaw? He's been knocked out/stopped twice by huge punchers.Also the first knockdown caught him at the base of the ear,the last on the top of the head.He'd never been down at 10 stone until now,including serious punishment from Maidana,a noted puncher.Get it right people.Vulnerable,yes,chinny no.Good luck to Danny Garcia.Serious fighter

Khan has some fantastic skills that you can't be trained. After the first couple of fights under Roach he looked a fantastic fighter (hit and not be hit), but recently he has become a slugger. why??? Mayweather may have a suspect chin, but we will never know has his defence is solid and he never gets hit with booming shots. Khan needs to stick to what got him to the top and improve his defence.

Khan has talent. What he forgots is to follow the advice of his trainer when he steps into the ring. For two rounds he was walking this fight. Garcia stayed on his feet at which point Khan decided he knew a better plan than Freddy Roach. Result KNOCKOUT!

first of all the British public fall for the hype every time amir khan like audly harrison had big money contracts thrown at them way before they were ready throwing them straight in the deep end with not much time to prepare if you think of the size of america and the sheer amount of fighters at that weight and level to come through that with a record of 26 /0 is a very good record

What can I say? Obviously Amir Khan has learnt nothing from the first defeat by Bredis Prescott, leave yourself open and you will get hit, after his last outing and defeat, he showed how ungracious he was in defeat, will he blame the ref for ending the fight too early? Was there a mystery man lurking around the judges? Give Danny Garcia proper respect, would Amir really beat Mayweather? Hell no!

I think he´d struggle to beat Kell Brook. Felt sorry for Khan last night, but he simply cant take big shots, he´s got fast hands, questionable power(lack of) and will always be caught and he inevitably struggles to survive when he is. ....

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